KUCHING: SUPP president Senator Professor Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian wants people in low-lying areas to be ready to for the worst case scenario.
Commenting on how selective extracts from his Facebook post are being circulated about flooding at 3pm today has been causing concern, he told The Borneo Post that it was not meant to cause panic.
He emphasised the importance of referring to the authorities for the latest update.
“I am not an expert in the weather. I just wanted people to be ready to leave and not panic over where their important documents or jewellery are, or where they left their car,” he said, adding that car owners need to think ahead and park further away from any river.
“If we need to evacuate, we can immediately do so and minimise damages to properties, valuables, goods, etc if the worse case scenario of severe overflow leading to flooding happens.”
In Dr Sim’s Facebook update early this morning, he said that it was a sunny day when Kota Bharu found itself under three feet of water in one hour due to rainwater from upstream meeting the high tide coming in.
“Kuching has been raining for the last few days. The rain water will take 12 hours to reach from upstream to Kuching. There is a high tide tomorrow afternoon after 3pm. Similar situation may occur in Kuching,” Dr Sim said in his Facebook post.
He told The Borneo Post that he needed to add his voice to caution residents in low-lying or riverbank areas to be ready to evacuate.
“Sometimes, people don’t take the authorities seriously.”
Yesterday, following a visit to the Kuching Barrage, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem assured the people that the flood situation here was under control and that the state government was well prepared for any eventuality that might arise during the king tide, from today till Jan 26, with the highest expected to be 6.3 metres on Jan 22 and 23.
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